Making a Task/Snack at a Web Agency

Every task that comes through our web agency, whether its design, copy or development, is a living thing that occupies it’s own time and space and must go through the proper procedure. In order to better explain how a task travels through an agency, we’ve decided to turn it into an easy to digest metaphor (pun intended).

The Task Is A Snack

Now, the client says that he or she would like the site to eat something so that it has the energy and the strength to achieve more for the company. This could come in the form of an automization, a new feature, a specific function in relation with the company’s CMS, a new landing page, so on and so forth. Moving forward, all of these tasks will be collectively referred to as a SNACK

Is The Site Hungry?

First, after the client requests a snack, the account manager checks the blood sugar of the site and looks into its stomach – is the site really hungry? If it’s not, we don’t want to overfeed the site, which would result in it being full, uncomfortable and obese. If we determine that the site really is ready for a snack, we will move forward.

Strategize

Next, we define, in correspondence with the sites strategy, what snack would best fit the website’s lifestyle and it’s previous and future needs. We identify what it needs and, if possible, we also add some of the client’s “wants”. At this stage, we ask clients to remember that they are not the master of the website. Instead, the site is a living entity on its own. It has its own needs and culture it must adhere to which may not correspond with the client’s desires.

Preparation

We then take the snack idea into a meeting room and figure out exactly what it is, if it’s a hot or cold snack, if it’s sweet or savory, how big it is, the ingredients we need, how much those ingredients cost, the steps involved in the preparation, and the cooking logistics.

Design

After the snack has been planned, we move to plating and packaging, also known as design. The design team determines how the snack will look, feel, and express the company’s goals and promises.

Assembly

Next, web development comes and assembles the snack – sprinkle in some binary, stir the pot with Java, PHP, CSS, sometimes Python, and then, when we are really “cooking”, we jump into Zend or Symphony.

Quality Assurance

Once development is complete, the snack is technically ready. We know it looks and smells GREAT, but does it taste great? The next step is to test it, make sure it tastes correct and has the nutritional content the site needs. Once we’ve confirmed the snack is correct, we give our client a taste and we make the final touches are in line with the site’s objective.

Then, we give the snack to the site.

After the snack has been ingested, we wait and watch what happens to the site and we look at analytics to make sure the site is running properly and received the energy or strength it needed.

Working With an Agency

When you work with an agency, your site is receiving custom snacks — not fast food. While this process will take more time and resources, your site will ultimately be healthier and able to give more to your company.